Ireland Join Family Long-stay Visa: Apply from Canada

The Join Family visa is a family visa for Canadian citizens and other non-EEA nationals who want to join their family members in Ireland.

If you have questions regarding the Irish Join Family visa or need assistance with applying, you can contact our expert immigration legal advisors. Contact us at +1 844 290 6312 or contact us seven days a week via our live chat.

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    What is the Irish Join Family Long Stay Visa?

    The Join Family Long Stay Visa (also known as the Ireland family reunification visa) is for foreign citizens who want to reunite with their Irish citizen family members or non-Irish family members who have valid visas and live in Ireland.

    Their Irish/Irish-resident family member may be their spouse, a de facto partner, civil partner, dependent children, or other family members/ family relationships based in Ireland.

    To enter Ireland with a Join family visa, the family member you wish to be with has to already be an Irish citizen or already have immigration permission granted to live there.

    The family member who is in Ireland will become your sponsor, and there are eligibility requirements to be a sponsor; they must have the right permission in Ireland, which could be any of the following:

    • An Irish citizen
    • A citizen of an EU/EEA country
    • A non-EU/EEA citizen who lives in Ireland as a lawfully resident through an employment permit holder
    • A foreign citizen living in Ireland on Stamp 4 or Stamp 5 immigration permission
    • A Ph.D. student studying in an Irish accredited program
    • A researcher under a Hosting Agreement
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    What are the eligibility requirements for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?

    To be eligible for the Join family visa, you will have to prove the following to the Irish immigration authorities:

    • You can prove that your relationship with the Irish family member is genuine and pre-existing
    • You hold a valid passport
    • You can prove that your family member is eligible to sponsor you
    • You can show that your family member lives in Ireland
    • You can prove that your sponsor can take financial and social dependency of you for you when you arrive and will continue to offer financial support
    • You can provide evidence showing that you are dependent on your sponsor (if applicable).

    What Are the Financial Requirements of the Ireland Join Family Visa?

    For an Irish citizen/resident to be eligible to sponsor you to leave Canada for Ireland through the Join Family Visa, they must be able to prove they can provide for you financially.

    The requirements vary depending on their nationality. 

    If the sponsor is an Irish citizen

    If you intend to join an Irish citizen family member, your sponsor must have earned an income of over €40,000 (54,666.98 Canadian Dollars) in the three years before the application.

    Your sponsor cannot have been totally or even somewhat dependent on any Irish state benefits in the two years before the application.

    If the sponsor is a non-EU/EEA national

    If you intend to join a non-EU/EEA resident family member, the financial requirements are varied.

    Should your family member’s permit or visa permit them to bring you with them immediately, then they don’t have to show any specified sum upfront.

    However, they must prove they will continue to meet the requirements of their permission to stay once they apply for a renewal.

    If your family member has another type of Ireland work permit, they have to prove that, in the two years before application (or 1 year, if you are applying to join them 1 year after they moved to Ireland), they’ve earned the gross income which is set by the Irish Department of Social Protection.

    These range between a weekly income of €521 (711.90 Canadian Dollars) and- 1,308 (1,787.25 Canadian Dollars) depending on the number of children you have.

    If you have no children, the minimum annual income requirements for an Ireland spouse visa are €30,000 (40,993.95 Canadian Dollars)

    What is the visa application process for the Join Family Visa?

    Firstly, the visa application is made through an online application process while you are still in Canada.

    You will have to provide plenty of information about yourself, your full contact details, and your family member who is sponsoring you. It is considered illegal to input any false or misleading information.

    Following the application form, you must gather your supporting documents that will work as evidence to prove your eligibility for the Join Family Visa.

    You have to ensure that you submit all the supporting documentation to convince the immigration officer that your family relationship is pre-existing and genuine.

    The particular documents depend on the type of your relationship with the family member in Ireland, as it will be different if you are applying as a spouse than if you were applying as a child.

    Along with your documents, send all the information to the relevant immigration office for processing. The exact location of sending will be provided to you on your summary form, which is given to you after you submit your application form.

    What is the supporting documentation required for the application?

    Per Irish law, you will need to provide many documents to prove you are eligible for family reunification. Whatever document you submit has to be the original copy and must be submitted in either English or Irish. If it is not in either language, it is required that it be translated by an accredited, official translator.

    The documents are as follows:

    • Signed and dated application summary form
    • Receipt to prove that you paid the visa fee
    • Two-color passport-sized photographs
    • Your valid Canadian passport
    • A signed and dated application letter in which you provide details of your family member sponsor, the reason for you coming to Ireland, and your full contact details
    • A copy of your sponsor’s passport or other document proving that they have the right to live in Ireland
    • Evidence of your relationship with the sponsor
    • Evidence of your sponsor’s bank accounts covering they meet a minimum level of earnings required
    • Evidence of having adequate accommodation in Ireland
    • Private medical insurance

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      How do I prove my relationship with my family member sponsor is genuine?

      You must be able to provide evidence confirming the relationship with your family members in Ireland is legit and genuine. The evidence depends on the type of your relationship with them.

      If you are applying for the Join Family Visa as a spouse, de facto partner, or civil partner, you can submit a marriage or civil partnership certificate and all correspondence to prove you have been together for some time.

      If you are applying for a child of the sponsor in Ireland, you can provide the child’s birth certificate or adoption paperwork.

      Finally, if you are a de facto partner, you can include a registration certificate of the partnership, a joint tenancy for a home, or evidence of having previously visited your partner in Ireland.

      What is the processing time for this visa?

      If your sponsor is an Irish citizen, you will most likely receive your decision within 6 months. If your sponsor is a non-EEA citizen legally living in Ireland, the processing time can take up to 12 months.

      All visa applications are reviewed in chronological order and on a case-by-case basis. This means if your situation is particularly complex, or there are many applicants, your waiting time will likely increase.

      To save any trouble, it is best to finalize and submit your paperwork around 6 months before you intend to move to Ireland.

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        How can Total Law Help?

        At Total Law, we empathize with the importance of being with your family. It is hard to be apart from family, and we are keen to support families with their join family long-stay visas.

        We are an accomplished group of immigration lawyers who can support you in your application and immigration processes and answer all of your questions.

        Whether you need assistance with the application form and process for your Irish visa, need assistance with attending a Garda national immigration bureau office to apply for a residence permit, or just need to talk one-on-one with an immigration professional for advice, we can help.

        With the help of our team, your chances of success are increased. There is no worse feeling than getting a delay or rejection of your visa, which means a longer time until you can see your family members in Ireland. Instead, contact us today for our help. We are available seven days a week and can be reached either by phone call (+1 844 290 6312) or via our online chat.

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                  Frequently Asked Questions

                  Similar to other Long Stay visas to enter Ireland, for the Join Family Visa, you will have to be required to pay either €60 for a single entry visa or €100 for a multiple-entry visa.

                  All applicants must pay their correct visa application fee before applying for processing.

                  There are conditions based on who your sponsor is.

                  If your sponsor is an Irish citizen, you will be given a Stamp 4, which permits you to work in Ireland, without the need to obtain an Employment Permit.

                  If your sponsor has a Critical Skills Employment Permit, you will need to apply for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit, which will let you work in any profession in Ireland, even those on the ineligible occupations list except as a domestic operative.

                  If your sponsor has a General Work Permit, or any other type of Ireland visa/permit, you will have to apply for an Employment Permit before obtaining permission to work.